Town Council approves funding for design of groins in Midtown beaches

Palm Beach is allocating money for design and permitting of a roughly $3.6 million project to protect the Midtown Beach shoreline, but it’s still unclear who will be footing the larger bill.

The Town Council unanimously voted to approve about $189,000 for this stage of the project to get it ready for eventual construction.

Right now, the project is calling for $1.5 million to rebuild structures in The Breakers groin field, $400,000 each to build new structures at the north and south Lauder Wall, $500,000 to build a new structure at the South Clarke boundary, $550,000 to rebuild the groins in Midtown Beach and $250,000 to extend the north grounds in midtown. The $3.6 million would not include the cost to bring more sand to the area.

Councilwoman Julie Araskog briefly talked about the possibility of a public-private partnership with The Breakers.

Breakers CEO Paul Leone said last month that The Breakers would be open to discussing the details of the project cost further down the line. Coastal Manager Rob Weber did not respond to multiple requests for comment on how the $3.6 million might be paid.

Leone and the Breakers and other interested groups such as the Surfrider Foundation are on board with the erosion mitigation plan for now pending completion of the design. The Shore Protection Board also unanimously approved this plan in October.

If all goes according to plan, the construction could start late this year or next year and be finished toward the end of 2019.